For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has understood that a fundamental source of our well being is living in balance with the natural world. Just as the seasons change, our activity levels, sleep patterns and diet should change if we are to live a balanced, harmonious life. The assumptions that we would live the same way in September (when it is still relatively warm and sunny) as we would in January (when it is cold and dark and snowy) is to miss the opportunities for lasting health provided by being aware of the lessons Nature offers us.

Ask the Acupuncturist and Herbalist

Acupuncture and herbal medicine offers individualized diagnosis, individual acupuncture treatments, and customized herbal Formulas. Chinese Medicine is based on treating the individual not just the symptoms or the diagnosis. People are very different and Chinese Medicine looks and treats each individual uniquely to promote balance and health. We treat the constitution or true nature of the individual (you could think of this as the season) as well as treating the symptoms (you can think of these as the weather the individual is experiencing). Additionally, Chinese Medicine treats the individual with the condition not just the condition itself.

Can Chinese medicinei increase vitality, performance and ease hormonal changes within men and women as they age?

Treating Sickness and the Cost of Healthcare

Around the country, there’s lots of talk about the cost of healthcare. Here in Vermont, where I live and practice Chinese medicine, the state is in the process of revamping the medical system partially for economic reasons. According to the Green Mountain Care Board, which was appointment by Governor Shumlin to oversee these changes, if the current increases in health care costs continue, it’s projected to bankrupt the state in 20 years. It’s not a question if the system will change, but rather a question of how and when.

Winter Health with Chinese Medicine

In addition to being able to treat a wide range of symptoms, Chinese medicine can also help us understand what promotes health. Just as the seasons change, what keeps us healthy also changes throughout the year. By understanding what is happening this season, we can understand how to promote winter health during the colder and darker months.

One of the most insightful systems in Chinese medicine is the Five Elements, also know as the Five Phases. In looking at the long history of Chinese medicine, the first text about the Five Elements dates back about 4800 years.

The Sickness of Health Care Economics

By Brendan Kelly, M. Ac., L. Ac., acupuncturist and herbalist

Our health care system is sick and part of it comes from health care economics. Not only is their a rapid increase in diagnoses like cancer but the costs threaten to overwhelm us. For several thousand years, Chinese medicine has emphasized the importance of looking below the surface of the symptoms to the their deeper causes. For our health care system, part of the sickness is our focus on treating disease after it has already appeared rather than preventing it from occurring and promoting health.